Alarm system



June24, 1930v `c. cHiERiGHlNo 1,768U5v ALARM SYSTEM Filed Dem-21, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /Patentedlune 24, 193e com cnmpnremno, or NEW Yoax, N. Y'.'

i man SYSTEM Applicationled December 21, 1927. Serial N o. 241,625. 5

This invention relates to electric signalling apparatus and more particularly to an automatic alarm .for operative connection with any telephone system and adapted tobe in- 6 stalled in banks, oiiices, stores, hotels, apartments and other laces which are liable to be burglarized and y the use of which apparatus police aid may be summoned, inthe event of a hold-up, or a serious argument which v might be presumed to be liable to lead to av conflict, withoutnthe olender lbeing aware'of the transmission ofthe call for assistance, the

apparatus being. likewise useful for the purposev of summoning aid in the event the one who is authorized to'set the apparatus in operation should be'seized with a severe heart attack or other serious illness liableto result 'in unconsciousness. l

Another object of the invention is to provide van electric signalling apparatus of the class and for the purpose described which may be set in operation by the pressure of push button switches which may be located at various readily accessible points in the room in which the apparatus is'installed and whereby, through an ingenious arrangement of such'switches, so that they will 'be concealed from view ofn all except those having a -knowledge of the presence of the apparatus, such switches may be actuated yas for example by foot or knee pressure, wlthout the person or persons who are bent on committing a robbery, being apprised. of the fact that "a call for assistance has been made. 4

Another object ofthe invention is to provide an electric signalling apparatus of the type and for the purpose stated above which will operate automatically afterla momentary pressure upon any one of the push'button switches associated therewith, so that the one setting the apparatus in operation need not pay any attention to the apparatus after having once pressed .the most conveniently 'accessible one of the several push button switches. v 'l While the accompanying drawings and the description which is to follow, constitutev a disclosure of the preferred embodiment of the;

invention, it will be understood that various there 4.partly in section o f the apparatus embodying theV invention, the view' illustrating, also,

' dizgrammatically, the electric circuit;

igure 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus, the closure for the casing being removed;

Figure 3 is a plan view, in detail, of a por 00 tion of the apparatus. l Thegreater portion of the apparatus. embodying the invention is mounted in a casing 1 of rectangular form and which casing may be installed at any convenient point in the bank, oliice, store, or other'place 'where the apparatus is to be employed, and the' installation of the a paratus is to he in con# nection with the te ephone ,systeml already installed in the ofiice or the like. i

The apparatus embodies a phonograph which is indicated in general by the numeral 2 and which may be-of any of the compact` types already upon the market, or maybe specially constructed, as desired,the winding key for the'motor of the phonograph being indicated bythe numeral 3 and being rendered accessible by lremoval ofthe cover 4 for the casing l. The honograph. 2 embodiesthe usual turn table 5 and the usual 80 motor which is howeverv not disclosed in the drawings inasmuch as it constitutes, in itself, no part of the present invention. The numeral 6 indicates a shaft which may be the spring shaft of the motor or a shaft driven rom, and this shaft extends through the wall of the body case of the phonographv and has fixed upon its outer end a gear 7 having two distinct peripheral portions one of which is toothed as indicated by the numeral 8 and the other of which is circular and smooth as indicated by the numeral 9, except that at a point in its circumference, it is formed with a notch indicated by the. numeral 10. The numeral 11 indicates an `armature which is pivoted at one end as at l 12 within the case 1 and'is-providedA at its other end with a pawl tooth 13 which is nor-v mally engaged in thenotch 10. A tension spring 14 is ixedat its upper end within the 100 y casing 1 and at its lower end is connected to y room,

thus placed the armature 11 and normally yieldably suports'the armature in the position shown in liigure 1 of the drawings in which position its.

pawl tooth 13 engages in the notch 10, as

' stated above, the armature at this time being in' spaced relation to the cores 15 ot -a pair of electromagnets 16 which are arranged preferably within the bottom of the casing and from which conductor wires 17 are led andl connected one to a suitable source of current supply and the other to said source of supply and to one or more push button switches which are indicated by the numeral 18*L and which, as previously indicated, may be mounted at inconspicuous places about the oce, or the like, in which the appa? installed, all of the switches being in circuit with the electromagnets 16. At this point it will be evident that the armature 11,.,being supported normally in the position illustrated in Figure 1,

ratus is throughA the medium of the spring 14 and closing of a telephone circuit, upon rotation` one of the push of thegear 7 at the time any button switches- 18zt is actuated, and the transmission, over this telephone circuit, to the central o erator, o a phonographic call for police ai and with this in view, a telephonie transmitter 18 and the usual coil box 18 are arran ed within the casing 1 opposite and 1 l as slightly a ove the turn table 5 ofthe phonograph 2, the mouth piece of this transmitter unit being indicated by the numeral 19, and a bellows 20 being connected at one end therewith and at its other end to the flared end 2 of a sound wave conducting tube 22 which is freely slidably mounted in a bearing sleeve 23 at the outer endof a bracket arm 24 which is fixed upon one walll of the casing 1 and which is so positioned that the sound box -or reproducing unit 25 which is supported at the end of the tube 22 may have its stylus 26 resting normally in engagement with a pho# nograph record 27 which is disposed upon the turn table 5, the tube 22 being initially Y slidably adjusted through the bearing sleeve -23 so that the stylus 2 6 of the reproducer 25 will engage in the outer end of the record groove in the phonographic .record disk 27, this disk bearingarecord of a series of refor policev assistance. vThe line wires automatically of the'telephone circuit are indicated bythe numeral 28 and arel'ed to therelatively insulated portions 29 and 30 of a switch arm the section 29 of which is pivotally suspended as at 31 within the casing 1 in such position .that when the said switch arm is swung to one of its positions of adjustment,it will bridge contacts 32 which are electrically connected by conductor wires 33 to the terminals of the transmitter 18., so that when the switch arm is, by means to be presently described, actuated at the time the gear 7 is set in motion, and likewise at the time the turn table 5 is in motion, the circuit will be closed through lthe transmitted 18 and line wires 28 to signal the 'central operator of the telephone.exchange who will-hear the request for police assistance which is transmitted over the wires, from the phonograph record. As before explained, the record disk 27 bears a series of recorded appeals for police assistance, which, ot course, may. be worded in any manner desired, and, through means which will presently be described. the

apparatus is designed to' operate for aap'redetermined limited period of time whenlany one lof the push button switches 18 is operated, so that, due to the provision upon the record' disk 27 of a plurality of series of ap eals for police assistance, the .apparatus w1 l be ca'- pable of times before there is anv need for adjusting the reproducer 25 to bring the stylus 26 to' the outer end of the record groove, and as the number of series of recorded requests will be in excess of any probable number of holdups or attempts at robbery, ,which vmight occur Ain a long period of years, the apparatus'is, as will be readily understood, substantially of a permanent nature.

As illustrated in Figure 1 of th on ordinary telephone set of such sets', or a private exchange switch board may beemployed beyond the apparatus housed in the casing 1, conductor wires 35 being led from the telephone set'or sets or the switch board andled into the casing 1 and connected to contacts 36 which are arranged opposite and in spaced relation with respect to the 'contacts 32, the switch arm, comprising the members 29 and 30, being normally held in engagement with the said condrawings,

engagement with these contacts and into enf operating a considerable number of 34, or any number gagement with the contacts 32 by a system o gearing which will nowbe described.

The system of *gearing referred to above, includes a pinion 37 which is rotatably fixed upon a stub shaft 38 which may be in turn mountedupon the motor casing of the phonograph 2, and this pinion is in mesh with the teeth 8 'of'thefgear 7, so that when the gear 7 is released or rotary movement androtates, rotary movement will be imparted to the gear 37. A. segmental-pinion 39is fixed with respect to the pinion 37 and the teeth 40 of the segmental pinion extend for a porside of the motor casing of gagement with the notch vengaged by i time, the teeth 47 of the tion only of the circumference of the pinion and are designed,under conditions to be presently explained, to mesh with rack teeth 41 upon a rack bar 42 which is slidably mounted in a suitable bearing 43v uponthe the phonograph 2, the rack bar 42 being pivotally connected at one end as at 44 to an insulating section l45 which constitutes a part of the switch A arm and which is arranged between the sec-' tions.29 and 30 of said switch arm, the rack bar being 'likewise provided upon its under side with another series of rack teeth indicated by the numeral 46 which are designed to be engaged by the teeth 47 of a segmental gear 48 at a predetermined period in the operation of the apparatus as a whole. In order 1n consonance with the gear 37 and segmenv.tal pinion 39, a bevel pinion 49 is mounted vupon the shaft 38 and meshes with a similar pinion 50 fixed upon the relatively adjacent end of a shaft 51 which is mounted in suitable bearings 52 and which shaft 51 is pro'- vided at its other end with a worml 53 meshing with a worm gear 54 upon the inner end of the shaft 55 upon which the segmental pinion 48 is mounted.

In carrying out the invention, the various gears and pinions, and the rack bar 42, are so proportioned and arranged that, when the apparatus is idle and the stylus 26 of the reproducer 25 is in the outer end of the record groove in the notch 10 ofthe section 9 of the'gear 7 will be the tooth 13 of the armature 11. At this time the gear 37 and segmental pinion 39 will occupy aproximately the position shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, in which position the teeth 40 of the pinion 39 are in mesh at one end of the series of teeth, with the teeth 38 of the rack bar 42. Likewise, at this segmental gear 4.8 are out of mesh with the 'teeth 46 of the rack bar 42 but in close proximity, at one end of the series, to said teeth 46. The gears 7, .37, and 48 will, in the operation of the apparatus, upon retraction of the tooth 13 from engagement with the notch 10 of the section 9 of the gear 7, rotate in the directions indicated by the arrows onl the several gears. It will therefore be understood, by reference to Figure 1, that when the electromagnets 16 are energized by a pressure push button switches 18a and a closingof the circuit through the magnets, the armaturell will be attracted to the cores of the magnets, and the toothy 13 will be retracted from en- 10 of the section 9 of the gear 7, and, at this time, the gear 7 will be released and will be rotated in-the clock-wise direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1 on said gear. As the gear 7 ro- `rection as indicated by that the segmental gear 48 may be rotatedphonograph record 27, thj a suiiicient number of the teeth upon any one of the it will impart rotary an anti-clock-wise dithe arrow applied to saidv gear in Figure 1, and, as the segmentall pinion 39 is fixed with respect to the gear 37, the said pinion `will at this time be rotated tates in this direction, motion to the gear 37 in .and the teeth 40 thereon will mesh with the teeth 38 .ofthe rack bar 42 thus eliecting a shifting movementof the rack bar longitudinally toward the. leftin Figure 1 of the drawing to bring the portions 29 and 30 of the swinging lever into engagement with the contacts 32 thereby closing the circuit through the transmitter unit 18 and placing this transmitter in circuit with the central operators receiving phone set. It will be evident that simultaneously with this operation of the parts, the turn table 5 of the phonograph 2 will be set in operation and vconsequently the recorded appeals for police assistance which are carried by the record disk 27 will be reproduced by the reproducer 25 and transmitted over the line wires 28 to the central operator at the telephone exchange whose duty it will be to notify police headquarters of the existing danger. 'Ihe phonograph record will of course include, in the recorded call for assistance, the street and number of the building in which the apparatus is installed, so that the central exchange operator will be enabled to either transmit the required information to police headquarters or, by the switchboard, place police headquarters directly in communication with the transmitter 18 of the apparatus. There are 40 of the segmental pinion 39 to insure of proper Ashifting of the rack bar 42 to effect movement of the switch lever to cause engagement of its portions 29 and 30 with the contacts 32 and at this time the untoothed or smoothportion of the pinion will merely ride past the teeth 41 of the rack bar 42. Likewise, at this time, the smooth or untoothed portion of the segmental gear 48'is riding past the rack teeth 46, due to the rotation of the said gear 48 in the direction indicated by the arrow, and the intermediate gearing comprising the bevel pinions 49 and 50pand the worm 53 and worm gear 54 is so arranged and proportioned that a period of approximately two minutes will be required for the gear 48 to rotate substantially a complete revolution, after which period'of time the teeth 47 of said gear will mesh with the teeth 46 of therack bar 42 and thus effect shifting of the rack bar 42 to its original position in which position the portions 29 Aand 30 of the, switch arm will be brought into engagement with the contacts 36 and the circuit through the transmitter 18 and line wires 28 will be broken. In the elapsed period of time referred to above, and due to the relative proportioning of the component .operating arts of the apparatus, one series of recor ed requests forA police assistance upon the phonograph push 'button switches 18a record 27 will have passed the stylus 26, so

that, during this period, repeated calls for assistance will be transmitted byv the transmitter 18, over the line wires 28, to the telephone exchange to be received by the operator or, through a connection of theytransmitting circuit of the apparatus with police headquarters, b the ocer in charge.

It will be un erstood that the bellows connection 20 between the mouth piece 19 of the transmitterlS and the flared end 21 of the sound wave conducting tube 22, permits of travel ofthe stylus 26 in the groove of .the record disk 27. n

It will also be understood from the foregoing description that when any one of the is actuated and the gear 7 is set in motion and the switch is then relieved of pressure, this will not in any way interfere with continued operation of the apparatus for the reason that while the spring 14 lifts lthe armature 11 away from the cores of the electromagnets 16, the tooth 13 of the said armature will engage against the smooth peripheral surface of the portion 9 of thev gear 7 and therefore willl not in any way interferewith rotation of this gear for the period of time above stated.

It will also be understood that. while the `arrangement of gearing illustrated and described is a simple an convenient one for 'accomplishing the objects of the present inf vention, nevertheless any a llili propriete, gearing maybe employed capa le of obtaining the same results, and it will also be evident that various modifications may 'be made in the construction and arrangement of parts so long as there is no departure from the spirit of the invention. l

In order to render the casing 1 sound proof, so that the sounds reproduced by the phonographic unit will .not be audible to anyone in the vicinity of the apparatus and thus conceal from the criminals the fact that a'call for help is bein made, a lining 56 of felt or similar materia is ap lied to the .inner sur-r faces ofthe. walls of t e casing.

It `will be understood ofcourse casing 1 .will be so'located-'as to be completely concealed rom view.

, 1.`In alarm signalling apparatuaa tele p honicA transmitting`'c1rcu'it including Aa transmitter, a switch for closing said circuit, a phcnographicjnt includin '3.a' rotatable record support, meins 'forrotatmg the same,

i .II portion havinga notch, an.electromtgnet, ia

-m'unicatin wi h' v the and a reproducerA su relation to- ..fthe r'ecoxffv "series of rack teeth for 'of the segmental gear,

that-nis Y the restraining ing means for the record support rotatin through rotation o 'portedv Ain cooperative supportand-in comv telephonie transmitter,

means' including remote control switch incircuit with the magnet, an armature for the magnet having a tooth coacting with the notch of the last mentioned portion of said gear in the nor. mal position of the gear and'adapted to be disengaged from4 of the armature through energization of thel magnet, and means actuated through the rotation of saidgear for eil'ecting closing of said rst mentioned switch for a predetermined period oftime and a subsequent opening of said first mentioned switch, the said means comprising a' gear in mesh with the first mentioned gear and a segmental pinion rotatable therewith, a segmental gear, a driving connection between said second gear and the segmental gear to rotate the segmental gear in a direction reverse to the rotation of said second gear, a rack bar connected with said iirst mentioned switch and having spaced engagement by the teeth'of the segmental pinion and the teeth said drive connection between the second mentioned gear and the last mentioned segmental gear providing for engagement of the teeth of the segmental pinion with the rack to shift the rack in a direction to close said first mentioned switch,

and a subsequent engagement ofthe teeth circuit in circuit with the transmitter and switch arm, a telephone set, contacts in circuit with said set and opengageable by the posing the first-mentioned contacts, the said switch armbeing movable between said sets rotatable record the same, and a reproducer supported 1n cooperative relation to the record support and in communication with the telephonie transof contacts, a phonographic unit including a support, means for rotating mitter, means vfor' normally restraining the Vrecord` support rotating meansl from operation, arremetecontrol means-for rendering means lnactlve, the; restrainmeansjincluding' a ear, and means actuate just the switch to, closethe circuit vthrough lthis telephonictransmitter and, .after a predeterminedjinterval, .adjust `the switch .to v

clo'se the, circuit through the telephone set'. VIn testimolyihereof I affix RAD omnmomno..

the gearto initially adi my signaturel r 

